The Final Invasion: Plattsburgh, the War of 1812's Most Decisive Battle [Hardcover]

Colonel David G. Fitz-Enz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 9, 2001

A major event in both America's history and the European wars of the nineteenth century, the War of 1812's Battle of Plattsburgh saw the largest invasion ever of a foreign military into the United States, as the British army and navy, fresh from victories against Napoleon, attempted to conquer Lake Champlain and its shores. Their plan was to seize control of key waterways and port cities, a move that would cripple America's defenses. Outnumbered and outgunned, the U. S. land and sea forces fought the British ships and troops to a standstill, allowing the leader of the American fleet, Lieutenant Thomas Macdonough, to carry out a brilliant maneuver which ensured an American victory. Author Fitz-Enz researched and produced a companion PBS documentary that examined the leaders on both sides of the conflict and their actions during the battle. His research brought to light numerous documents, including diaries and secret battle orders, that reveal new insights into the battle. His descriptions of the confrontation in the pages of The Final Invasion bring to vivid life the cannon blasts that tore through ships and their crews and the rush of infantry storming the fortifications around the city. Endorsed by the U. S. Army War College, The Final Invasion is a thrilling look at a pivotal moment in American and world history.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Former army officer Fitz-Enz (Why a Soldier?) examines the battle at Plattsburgh, which occurred when the British were attempting to reconquer the young United States by moving south from Canada through Lake Champlain in an attempt to cut off Maine from the rest of the country. The U.S. Army was small and led by incompetent officers, and the militia was generally useless Vermont troops would not leave Vermont and New York State troops would not leave the Empire State. The American campaigns of 1812, 1813, and 1814 had been utterly chaotic, as the British troops were well-trained veterans of the Napoleonic Wars. The U.S. Navy, however, was led by a brilliant officer, Thomas Macdonough, who inspired his men to build a superior squadron of small ships. After desperate fighting, they finally defeated the British fleet at Plattsburgh in August 1814. Fitz-Enz claims that this battle was the key to the War of 1812 and in fact far more important than Oliver Hazard Perry's victory at Lake Erie, though Perry is remembered and Macdonough's triumph is unjustly forgotten. A highly readable work that serves as a companion book to the PBS documentary and should be in every U.S. history collection. Stanley L. Itkin, Hillside P.L., New Hyde Park, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Here is a carefully researched military history book that will rock you back on your heels and make you edit some of your assertions about past invasions of the United States. (Tulsa World )

The Final Invasion is a splendid account of one of the pivotal battles in American history. The books is thoroughly researched and beautifully told. Author Colonel Fitz-Enz relates, in exciting prose, this effort on the part of the British to recapture their priceless North American colonies lost in the Revolutionary War. The story of the battle between the English and American fleets on Lake Champlain in 1814 is a breathtaking blow-by-blow account, bringing out the horror of ship-to-ship encounters in that day. (Vice Admiral James F. Calvert )

The Final Invasion is a splendid account of one of the pivotal battles in American history. The books is thoroughly researched and beautifully told. Author Colonel Fitz-Enz relates, in exciting prose, this effort on the part of the British to recapture their priceless North American colonies lost in the Revolutionary War. The story of the battle between the English and American fleets on Lake Champlain in 1814 is a breathtaking blow-by-blow account, bringing out the horror of ship-to-ship encounters in that day. (Vice Admiral James F. Calvert )

Colonel David Fitz-Enz has produced what will long stand as the standard account of one of the least known but most decisive military campaigns in American history. Though overshadowed by the burning of Washington, DC, and Jackson's defeat of the British at New Orleans, it was the 1814 campaign in upstate New York that determined the outcome of the War of 1812. During exhaustive research Fitz-Enz uncovered in Portugal a copy of orders sent to Sir George Prevost which lead to judgements much kinder to Sir George Prevost than those of many previous historians. Drawing on his experience as a soldier and a thorough understanding of the setting, both on land and of the nature of Lake Champlain, Fitz-Enz has produced a clear narrative that brings to life the people and events of September 1814 like never before. (James C. Bradford )

David Fitz-Enz has written a wonderful book on one of the more important but less well-known battles of our country. It tells a compelling story of how a few soldiers and sailors of our new nation defeated the best professionals of the British Army, fresh from defeating Napoleon. (John W. Foss )

A highly readable work that serves as a companion book to the PBS documentary and should be in every U. S. history collection. (Library Journal )

An admirably well-researched and complete account of the Plattsburgh campaign, which has waited for such treatment for far too long. (Paddy Griffith, Ph. D. )

Fitz-Enz's research has produced illuminating documents, including diaries and secret battle orders, revealing new insights into the battle. This is one of the best books on the War of 1812 currently available. (Military Heritage )

Smoothly Written, well-researched, and comprehensive in approach and scope, The Final Invasion has much to commend and little to question. (Samuel Watson Book Review Digest )

Smoothly Written, well-researched, and comprehensive in approach and scope, The Final Invasion has much to commend and little to question. (Samuel Watson Book Review Digest )

Fitz-Enz provides a stirring narrative of the two-hour slugfest that was the Battle of Plattsburgh Bay. (The Journal Of America's Military Past )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 328 pages
• Publisher: Cooper Square Press; 1 edition (August 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815411391
• ISBN-13: 978-0815411390
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #569,668 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 'Once More into the Breach...', November 8, 2001

By 

Kevin F. Kiley - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Final Invasion: Plattsburgh, the War of 1812's Most Decisive Battle (Hardcover)

While the author's thesis may be arguable, the evidence he presents is not. At this point in the War of 1812, nearly every action fought was decisive to the American cause. The War of 1812 undoubtedly the war in which the US was most unprepared to enter and fight. The military incompetence of both the Jefferson and Madison administrations, coupled with a foreign policy that was none too bright, nearly doomed the infant United States. The virulent hostility displayed towards a standing army and navy by both administrations, and the inability to prepare for a major war, condemned the United States to early defeat. Luckily for the US, competent commanders emerged from the crucible of combat to fight a well-earned draw with the British. This book is the story of such commanders and a decisive victory won against long odds by American land and naval forces in 1814 along the Canadian frontier.

The author presents the situation in a simple, straight forward manner, having done excellent research on the subject, to the extent of uncovering new material in a forgotten collection which clearly demonstrates both the long odds faced by the Americans and how much importance the British placed on this invasion of the United States from Canada. This alone makes this book valuable to all students of the period. This may not be the best book available on the one of the War of 1812's battles, but it is undoubtedly one which adds decisively to our collective knowledge of this particular campaign and what was at stake for the United States in the summer and fall of 1814.

There are some minor errors in the illustrations which are moderately distracting. There is one picture of US Marines of the War of 1812 identified as US Army, and a picture of the USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere mislabeled as part of the naval battle on Lake Champlain. While this is a little disturbing, it does not distract from the text or lessen the value of the book in general.

This book is recommended, as it can take its place among other recent valuable books on the subject.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent History of a Little Known Campaign, August 14, 2002

By 

Jeffrey Gonzales (Pittsburgh, Pa USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Final Invasion: Plattsburgh, the War of 1812's Most Decisive Battle (Hardcover)

The author clearly did his homework before writing this account
of the 1814 British/Canadian attack on Plattsburgh, NY. Had it
succeeded, things might look differently today in terms of U.S. territory and we would have another humiliating defeat to look back on.
The events leading up to the combined land/sea battle are well laid out and the battle itself is described in rousing detail, particularly the bloody Naval conflict on Lake Champlain. All the events in the book are also put into perspective with the invasion of Washington DC and Baltimore which was part of a recently discovered British grand strategy.
A few minor omissions and errors keep the book from being great history but don't hurt the overall narrative too badly. The newly discovered Prevost papers ( he was C.O. of the invasion and Governor of Canada ) lend new light on the subject but seem to have biased the author toward Prevost. Prevost was overly cautious in his approach and abandoned a partly successful attack with a huge numerical superiority at Plattsbugh. Worse still, he abandoned supplies and equipment in a hasty withdrawal which was not pursued. The author goes to some length to justify this even the Prevost was court martialed for it.
The Niagra Campaign on the other side of N.Y. state is not mentioned at all despite the mistaken withdrawal from Plattsburgh of most of the U.S. regulars to fight in it. The author also errs in reffering to the Royal Americans as the 62nd foot- they were known as the 60th for most of their career and also gives the imppresion that the Washington DC invasion force suffered much fewer battle casualties than in an accidental explosion. This is untrue, read "by Dawn's Early Light" by Lord to get a good picture of this battle.
Overall, other than omitting the Niagra campaign, these are minor quibbles that don't lessen the fact that this is a well written history of a neglected chapter in American History and a great victory by American arms during a dark hour.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lacking Solid Research, July 25, 2002

By 

John R. Grodzinski (Kingston, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Final Invasion: Plattsburgh, the War of 1812's Most Decisive Battle (Hardcover)

This book is a companion to a documentary produced for PBS. Unlike television, books demand solid research, detail and well structure arguments. Like so many television companion books, this is popular history that suffers from incomplete research.

While a wide range of sources may have been consulted, the lack of a bibliography leaves the reader to consider the few titles and documents listed in the endnotes. For example, there is considerable discussion of the British Army, without any reference to any of the key secondary sources dealing with the period, let alone documents. One would have preferred more discussion on the quality of the officers corps, the fighting units and structural problems rather than the facing colours, rows of buttons and descriptions of Polish cuffs. Much would have been revealed had CO 42, the Secretary of State Correspondence for Canada been consulted. At times I was uncertain if the author was elaborating on his research to support the thesis or simply list the other authors he has dined or had drinks with.

As noted elsewhere, there are a host of errors. As with all popular histories, if you read this book, do so with care.